Groundbreaking research to be published in a report on Monday reveals the duplicity of the oil industry. Oil companies claim Ireland’s offshore is ‘unproven’, with almost no exploration taking place and with little or no chance of success. On this basis, they insist Minister Rabbitte must continue issuing licences on the extremely ‘attractive’ terms introduced by Ray Burke 20 years ago.

Providence’s recent announcement that the Barryroe field contains up to 1.6 billion barrels of oil provides a glimpse of the true picture. The big question is: what is the total of all the geological estimates issued by exploration companies for their licensed areas in Irish territory?

The answer is a staggering figure, the result of months of painstaking research by campaigners, who trawled through figures issued by oil exploration companies. The figure will be revealed at Monday’s press launch of ‘Liquid Assets’, a definitive guide to the issues around Ireland’s hydrocarbon resources and how the State manages them.

The centre-piece of this 44-page guide (print run 5,000 copies) is a groundbreaking map, showing for the first time all the known prospects and discoveries in Irish territory, together with tables listing the relevant exploration companies' own estimates for how much oil and gas these licensed areas contain. The map and tables are backed by an extensive online spreadsheet containing detailed sources and further information.

‘Liquid Assets’ is the first comprehensive, critical analysis of the State’s flawed approach to this sector. The booklet debunks some of the dominant myths about our oil and gas, for example the false belief that further discoveries in Irish waters will necessarily lead to jobs, investment and a domestic supply of oil or gas.

Search

Blast from the Past

Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe’s first contact with a TD came about because he saw Clare Daly TD on ‘Tonight with Vincent Browne’ talking about policing of Corrib Gas protests, writes William Hederman

The repercussions for Garda whistleblowers Maurice McCabe and John Wilson will be familiar to others who have publicly embarrassed An Garda Síochána. They were clearly acting in the public interest, but their revelations brought the force into disrepute, and the two men suffered as a result. Revenge was exacted – not only by colleagues, but also by way of public denunciation by the Garda Commissioner (“disgusting”), the Minister for Justice (“not co-operating”) and by various other parties loyal to the force.